A WORLD OF APPEARANCES: SPERONE SPERONI AND THE DEBATE OVER SOPHISTRY IN THE ITALIAN RENAISSANCE

Speroni;sophistry;philosophy;rhetoric;Italian

Katinis, TeodoroCampbell, Stephen J. ;

Johns Hopkins University

关键词: Speroni;    sophistry;    philosophy;    rhetoric;    Italian;   

Others  :  https://jscholarship.library.jhu.edu/bitstream/handle/1774.2/40672/KATINIS-DISSERTATION-2015.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y

瑞士|英语

来源: JOHNS HOPKINS DSpace Repository

【 摘 要 】

This dissertation analyzes the works of Sperone Speroni degli Alvarotti (Padua 1500–1588), his re-evaluation of ancient sophistic perspectives and his legacy in the early modern age. Although international studies on the subject are taken into consideration, this research is mainly conducted through a systematic exploration of ancient and early modern primary sources. The rigorous and direct analysis of the texts is a consistent practice for determining results. The subject of this research, at the intersection of Italian literature and philosophy, requires an interdisciplinary approach throughout the dissertation. Speroni was one of the most important protagonists of the Renaissance debate on language and logic as well as civil and speculative philosophy. Educated as an Aristotelian, he eventually developed a distinctive literary and philosophical production and was the first to challenge Plato’s (327-447 BCE) condemnation of sophists. Still, despite the fact that Speroni was a central figure of Renaissance philosophy and literature in the vernacular, he is one of the most neglected authors in international scholarship. Furthermore, scholars have considered Speroni’s interest in ancient sophists as a marginal aspect of his oeuvre and have disregarded the paramount role of the period’s vernacular writing on sophistry that began with his works and spread throughout sixteenth-century Italy. This four-chapter dissertation fills the gap in international studies, being the first monograph dedicated to Speroni written in English and the first work written in any language investigating the fundamental role of the ancient sophistic tradition in the Italian Renaissance. The first chapter analyzes fifteenth-century authors’ translation and comments on works related to sophistry. The second examines Speroni’s works that argue for the rehabilitation of the ancient Greek sophists. The third explores Speroni’s sophistic writing in the form of double arguments and paradoxical dialogues. The fourth chapter focuses on the debate about sophistry and its relationship with literature and arts in Italy at the end of the sixteenth century, which also involves the quarrel about Dante’s poetry. The conclusions summarize the most relevant aspect of the dissertation and present further paths for research in different fruitful direction. Christopher Celenza and Walter Stephens have been the advisors for this dissertation.